The 2026 MLB regular season is winding down. The final week of the campaign has begun and a lot is still at stake. From teams trying to sneak into the postseason to ball clubs looking to clinch the league's best record, here's a look at the MLB standings' top storylines heading into the last week of the 2026 regular season.
Teams competing for best record in MLB standings
The Milwaukee Brewers (98-58), Los Angeles Dodgers (96-60) and Tampa Bay Rays (95-60) are all competing for the best record in baseball. Milwaukee is in the driver's seat, but the ball club needs to finish strong to clinch MLB's best record.
Both the Brewers and Dodgers have already clinched their divisions. The Rays are close to clinching the American League East. Tampa Bay is poised to earn the AL's best record. The Dodgers are only a couple of games behind the Brewers for the National League's best record.
The Dodgers and Brewers will begin the week against contenders in the San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies. They will both play teams already eliminated from the postseason to finish the week in the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals. As for the Rays, their schedule is especially tough with series against the New York Yankees and Phillies to conclude the regular season.
AL division races
The Rays will likely win the AL East barring a massive collapse. The AL Central and AL West are far from decided, however. Heading into the final week, the Cleveland Guardians hold a one-game lead over the Chicago White Sox for the AL Central lead. Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers are one game ahead of the Houston Astros in the AL West.
While the White Sox and Astros currently trail in their divisions, they both hold the tiebreakers over the Guardians and Rangers in their divisions. The tiebreaker could make a difference down the stretch.
Houston will finish the season with a pair of AL West matchups on the road against the Seattle Mariners and Athletics. Texas is set to host the New York Mets before ending the regular season in Minnesota against the Twins.
The Guardians will play the Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals on the road. The White Sox will begin the week in Kansas City against the Royals before returning home to host the Colorado Rockies. While the focus is on the Guardians and White Sox in the AL Central, the Royals could play a crucial role in determining the outcome of the division with series against both teams in the final week of the season.
Final AL Wild Card spot
Article Continues Below
The Yankees and Red Sox hold the top two spots in the AL Wild Card. Although the final AL Wild Card spot team could still technically surpass the Red Sox, it will be a challenge as Boston holds a four-game lead. At the moment, the White Sox hold the final AL Wild Card position.
The Astros are three games back of the spot, while the Toronto Blue Jays are 3.5 games back and the Baltimore Orioles are 4.5 games back. Houston has a better opportunity of winning their division than earning a Wild Card position while Toronto and Baltimore will need huge final weeks of the year to reach the postseason.
The Blue Jays and Orioles happen to go head-to-head to begin the week, as Baltimore defeated Toronto 4-3 in the first game of the series on Monday. Following their three-game series in Baltimore, the Blue Jays will return home to host the Cincinnati Reds and the Orioles will travel to New York to play the Yankees.
NL Wild Card race
The NL divisions are decided with the Atlanta Braves, Brewers and Dodgers all clinching their divisions. The NL Wild Card race still has questions to answer, however.
Technically, there are four teams competing for three NL Wild Card spots. However, the Arizona Diamondbacks are four games back of a position. The San Diego Padres' recent surge has them sitting tied with the Chicago Cubs for the top NL Wild Card spot, but they are both only one game ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Cubs, Padres and Phillies will all likely reach the postseason. It remains to be seen how the final NL Wild Card order will look, though. Still, the Diamondbacks could upset one of the teams by winning the rest of their games this season.
The Padres are set to begin a three-game series with the Dodgers in LA on Tuesday before returning home to host the Diamondbacks over the weekend. As for the Cubs, Chicago will host the Miami Marlins to begin the week before finishing the season in Boston against the Red Sox. Philadelphia will host the Brewers and Rays to conclude the campaign. The Diamondbacks will attempt to shock the MLB world and reach the postseason with matchups against the Rockies in Colorado and Padres in San Diego this week.